lots of everything week

This week is going to be jam packed with bookstore and Friends obligations, soccer games and practices, pantry restocking trips and a few other things.

Good thing "Dreamfever" arrived at the library the day after I put a hold on it. Knowing this is the latest book in the series and I will have to wait a whole year for the 5th and final book, I stretched reading it to over two days. Loved. Every. Word. And what a cliffhanger ending. Wowsa! Karen Marie Moning keeps getting better and better.

Watched the second to the final episode for this season of True Blood. Okay, so I wasn't thrilled with how Alan Ball brought Sophie Anne to the screen...the actress looks a bit too old and while she is clearly powerful and knowledgeable, she almost seems to be too flighty to be the Queen of Louisiana. I think I like the book version much better than the TV version. Of course, now we have to wait two whole weeks for the season finale. Bummer!

Soccer game for tonight was called off, but the oldest has games Tuesday and Wednesday. Middle kid has a game Wednesday. Throw in a few practices here and there and it adds up to lots of field time for all of us.

Plus, the beginning of the month is always busy with the Friends, the bookstore and the Library.

Better get my running shoes on!

friday

I read two books yesterday. Yes, two of them. Once we finished stocking the store and dealing with the donations from this past week, I scanned the shelves and the online catalog for the next two Karen Marie Moning titles in her Fever series. I came away with "Bloodfever" and "Faefever." The later one I had to dig for in the work room as it was waiting to be shelved in the stacks. But, I found it!!

I devoured those books. Nothing else got done. Good thing I had planned on sandwiches for dinner and those are self serve, no cooking required by me. Good thing I cleaned earlier in the week.

I read from 11:00 until 8:00 last night......had a few interruptions, but mainly I immersed myself in Mac's world and loved every minute of it.

What a great escape. Can't wait to get my hands on the next title "Dreamfever"....I put a hold on it at the library, should be mine within the next ten days. Not sure if I can wait that long!

My folks arrived in Florida and I will get my mom's take on my grandma's condition at some point today. My uncle had arrived earlier and had already seen her, he felt the nurses didn't quite explain just how bad off she is. But, he saw her just a few weeks ago after she had the car accident and her current condition compared to then sounds to be drastically changed.

Glad the weekend is ahead.

seeing things in a different way

It is human nature. When we get close to a person, a project, a situation we can lose our objectivity and see things through a very narrow lens that filters reality based upon our experiences and opinions.

As I'm winding down my time with the bookstore. Meetings are starting to happen between the new gals and all of the 'interested' parties. Change is in the air and people sense it and start to get a tad bit nervous. I'll be glad when things are finalized and I can truly step out of the picture. It is difficult to be in charge and begin to let go all at the same time.

We all want a smooth transition and I believe we will have one amongst the three of us.....it is all the other players that need coaxing along. My way will not always be their way and that does not mean either way is correct or incorrect. It only means that it is different.

I read another one of Shirley Damsgaard's Abby and Ophelia mysteries yesterday. I needed a major diversion from reality and the book served that purpose. I didn't get much of anything done other than making phone calls, reading and watching some very mindless daytime television.

My parents are now on their way to Florida to be with my mom's mother. My grandma is in ICU right now and seems to have suffered a stroke. I was able to speak with her yesterday afternoon, much to my relief. With the loss of my dad's mom this past January and now the rapidly declining health of my other grandma, I spent a lot of time yesterday thinking back on my relationships with these two women and their lives and the impact their lives had on me. I see things in a different way now than I did even ten years ago. Aging does that. It tinkers with those lenses and filters and sometimes brings things into a sharper image while blurring other pictures and memories.

I'm anxious for my parents to arrive there and to be on hand for her. We don't know what the next few days will bring, but our realities will shift and some things will become clear and others more muddied. It will be different and change is hard.

open house nite

Hubby and I navigated the high school open house last night. He learned the freshman class is the biggest with over 540 students. The total enrollment is the smallest they've recently had at 1980 students.

I learned I wouldn't be able to survive those hallways between classes. I also learned that some teachers, have really nice, spacious classrooms and others have broom closets masquerading as classrooms.

We think our daughters are in great hands. The majority of both sets of teachers are very experienced. The Honors Alg II gal has been teaching for 26 years, dept. head for 24. She has an Einstein action figure doll in her classroom! I think that between both kids, only one teacher is a brand new, fresh out of college professional....and she seemed to be extremely prepared.

Both kids will take the ACT this fall, the first time for one and the second time for the other. We need a baseline number to start with so they can take advantage of all the tutoring classes available to get the best score they can possibly get. Thirty is the magic number for admissions and scholarship money.

It was a good night. I know I wouldn't want to be back in high school, but it seems like the kids have good teachers this year and that can make all the difference.

what is old is new again

Several years back when I first began to dabble with fiction writing, I submitted an essay to a now defunct newsletter/magazine published by Mary Englebreit. It was published, I was paid (whee) and all was well in my world. Around that same time I was working on writing a time-travel romance novel. Part of learning how to craft a book is reading all of the books you can in the same genre. I picked up a romance by Karen Marie Moning and dove into her "Highlander" series. I loved it. I emailed her....and she wrote back. We exchanged several notes and she was very sweet and helpful to this novice would-be novelist....even if she graduated from Purdue and I graduated from IU.

Since then she has gone on to publish several more books. I've read all of her Highlander series, but for some reason never picked up her "Fever" books when they first came out. Last week, I found the first one in that series and brought it home. Awesome read and I will be hunting down the other titles in this series.

I found her website; wow, money and credentials sure can jazz up an online presences, neat site. She now has an assistant to answer her email....yep, she's a MAJOR author now with the "Fever" books even being optioned by Hollywood.

I'd love to send her a note, but in the eight years since we first emailed, I'm sure she's had a gazillion fans write to her and what is a special memory for me may be long forgotten by her. She was one of the first to congratulate me on my essay's publication and shared with me how when her first book was published she actually licked the cover!

I'm so happy she has done so well and obviously has the staying power that some authors never achieve.

Well done, Karen...from your fellow Hoosier.

what a cool breeze can do

We had a very busy weekend with the girls refereeing a slew of tournament games at our local parks. Then hubby and I had to put in four hours each of volunteer time for the girls' competitive soccer club. We knocked that out early on Sunday morning by selling tee shirts at one of the venues.

I've never seen so many smiling faces and just plain, happy looks on people. The weather this weekend was perfect, sunny, breezy and comfortable. The mornings have been cool with little humidity. The evenings are comfortable as well. We are having perfect patio weather and hubby and I looked at each other and remarked, this is mid August in the midsouth, right?!

It is just easier to get things done when the weather is this pleasant. Even if the thing getting done is sitting in a comfy lawn chair and reading a book!

uh huh, that's right, who's the girl?!

Woot. Whee. Wahooo.

Had my second 'soccer' article appear in a local paper. The editor patched together three press releases and made one huge article and ran that along with two photos. It turned out well and looked good.

So that is two articles I've managed to place and the season hasn't even started yet. I'm happy. Nothing quite like a byline to get my feet dancing in the kitchen.

It has been a good week. Had a great meeting with the gals who will be taking on the bookstore when my time is up on October 1. Had a good time sorting donations and putting together a sale cart for the store, which then resulted in booming sales for the store and many happy readers. The happy readers makes me smile, it is a good thing to keep readers reading.

Today I think I will just go out and bum around town; we have a brand new Big Lots store to explore and I may treat myself to a fancy coffee drink and cookie down at our town square.

We have a busy soccer filled weekend ahead, so today is going to serve as my Saturday and Sunday; a day for rest, relaxation and fun.